Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935)

An opium-addicted choirmaster develops an obsession for a beautiful young girl and will not stop short of murder in order to have her.

Director:

Stuart Walker

Writers:

Leopold Atlas, John L. Balderston,

Stars:

Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel

Cast

Cast overview:
Claude Rains	...	John Jasper
Douglass Montgomery	...	Neville Landless
Heather Angel	...	Rosa Bud
David Manners	...	Edwin Drood
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Rev. Mr. Septimus Crisparkle
Valerie Hobson	...	Helena Landless
Zeffie Tilbury	...	The Opium Woman
Ethel Griffies	...	Miss Twinkleton
E.E. Clive	...	Mayor Thomas Sapsea
Walter Kingsford	...	Hiram Grewgious
Forrester Harvey	...	Durdles
Veda Buckland	...	Mrs. Tope (as Vera Buckland)
Elsa Buchanan	...	Mrs. Tisher
George Ernest	...	Deputy (as Georgie Ernest)
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Chief Verger Tope

Storyline

John Jasper is a brooding, moody choirmaster at a finishing school in Victorian England, but maintains a secret life in an opium den. He becomes obsessed with a young student, Rosa Bud, who is engaged to his nephew Edwin Drood, and she senses the intensity Jasper's feelings and is frightened of him. When the mixed-blooded Neville Landless and his twin sister Helena arrive at the school from Ceylon, Neville and Edwin take an immediate dislike to one another as Neville feels that Edwin takes his engagement too lightly. Although they quarrel and make up, Edwin disappears, and suspicion falls on the quick-tempered Neville.

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Plot Keywords:

opium den | murder | finishing school | engagement | suspicion | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charles Dickens' 'Mystery of Edwin Drood'

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$215,375 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The novel, the last by Charles Dickens, was unfinished at the time of his death in 1870.

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Goofs

After the first dinner party, as David Manners and Douglass Montgomery are walking down the street to go home, the shadow of the boom mike can be seen in the background on the side of the buildings.

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Quotes

Mr. Septimus Crisparkle: [to Neville] Tomorrow you're my pupil, but today you are my guest.

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Connections

Version of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1914)

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Soundtracks

"Silent Night"
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Joseph Mohr
Music by Franz Gruber
Sung as Christmas carol

User Reviews

MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (Stuart Walker, 1935) ***

This adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous unfinished novel is made in the style of Universal's horror films: in fact, it not only features many of their participants (from both sides of the camera) but actually shares several sets with BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) –making the film all that more enjoyable and fascinating a viewing! The stunning opening sequence, depicting an opium-induced hallucination, is followed by the shocking discovery of the addict involved (Claude Rains) to be the choirmaster of the local church! Jealously in love with a girl (Heather Angel) about to marry his nephew (David Manners in the title role), he schemes to get the boy out of the way – unaware that the couple had mutually given each other up when she falls for hot-tempered newcomer Douglass Montgomery; the latter's own shaky relationship with Drood leads to his being suspected of foul play when Manners goes missing – a situation Rains encourages for obvious reasons. Montgomery, however, does not rest on his laurels – indeed, he makes himself up as an old man in order to conduct his own private investigation! The exciting climax – set inside the crypt so memorably utilized in the James Whale masterpiece I mentioned earlier – sees the villain engaged in a scuffle with the hero, eventually getting his just desserts in melodramatic fashion. The film, then, serves as an interesting companion piece to contemporaneous Dickensian adaptations (a star-studded David COPPERFIELD emerged from MGM that same year) and should also pique the interest of horror buffs for the reasons I delineated at the start…